‘So What’ Solos: an irreverent analysis

From time to time I will be analysing a jazz tune or performance. I won't be overly dry or academic about this, nor overly reverential. Where (thanks to my excellent teachers) I can find a technical analysis which fits the way I hear the music, I will share it with you. Sometimes I may simply…

Our Links page goes live

Our Links page is now live. From essentials like Youtube and Wikipedia, to jazz-related gems that you might easily have missed, we are still only showing you a tiny sample of what's out there. You can help by recommending further links, and reporting any links which don't work. Jolt your creativity with Steve Treseler's blog.…

Teacher don’t teach me no nonsense

Jazz education is a fraught subject. If you think people get passionate about styles of music, wait until you encounter the emotions that surround different ways of teaching and learning jazz. The role of jazz theory is particularly controversial. I thought the discussions at a local jazz education conference, held in Brighton earlier this year,…

Swing (part 2)

It's probably a good idea to scroll down and read the previous post before this one. After I wrote the previous post I did some internet searching. To spare you the embarrassment of searching for "swinging", you know. I found a great video by Aimee Nolte, which deals with many of the points I touched…

The swinging sound of silence

A fortnight ago, in the class I go to, we had a discussion about swing. We agreed you have to feel it. There isn't a formula. We agreed it is something to do with the timing and emphasis of the 'ands' (the half beats, as in '1 and 2 and...'). Barry Harris has a wise…

Oleo

Oleo is a bebop tune by Sonny Rollins, as mischievous as anything that flew off the reed of Charlie Parker. Clearly on a mission to weave an interesting new tune around the overworked chords of I Got Rhythm, Rollins deployed shifting, syncopated patterns, with short and long phrases, gaps where you don't expect them, and…